Catherine McAuley was born in Ireland in 1778 September 29th. She was very young when her dad died, she was only 5 years old and then a couple years later when she was a teen, her mother died from a critical illness. Later on her sister passed away in her deathbed.
When her mother and father died she was sent to live with her friends and family, her sister and brother lived with a very wealthy and kind family and Catherine lived with a family although her bed was on the floor, so she moved in with her brother and sister. Catherine's dad was a Christian and her mum was a Protestant. She wanted to be a christian to look after all, so she decided to use the money she was left from Mr Callaghan when he died, to build a Mercy House. Mr Callahan gave Catherine the money because he over heard his daughter talking badly about Catherine and that she didn't deserve that disrespect.

Catherine decided to build the Mercy House in Bogget Street because that was where all the rich people lived. She hoped they would notice her helping and teaching others and then they could donate or join to help out with the less fortune people . She was going to provide clothes, food, a warm bed and much more that they need. Catherine McAuley travelled to France while learning about teaching larger groups of children.